Cost of living in Bali, a monthly budget built on real rents

Three monthly budgets

These budgets are for one month in the south of Bali, in rupiah and in dollars at Rp 17,900 to the dollar. The rent lines are the median asking prices in our listings. The other lines are our estimates for 2026, so read them as orders of magnitude.

A family with two children in an international school is a different budget. Count Rp 45M for a three bedroom villa and Rp 100M or more a month in total, most of the gap being school fees.

Rent, the biggest line

The median asking rent across the 672 listings on this site is Rp 30M a month, about $1,680. That figure hides a wide spread. A room in a guesthouse goes for Rp 8M. A three bedroom villa goes for Rp 45M.

Three things move the price more than anything else.

• The type of home. A room or a local house costs a fraction of a villa with a pool. Most posts in the Facebook groups are villas aimed at foreigners, which pulls the median up.
• The area. Canggu, Pererenan and Umalas are at the top. Ubud, Tabanan and Denpasar are well below.
• The length of stay. A yearly rental, paid up front, costs much less per month than the same home rented by the month.

Each area has its own page in the rent prices index, with the median by number of bedrooms. If rent is the line you want to cut, start with the cheap monthly rentals, which lists everything under Rp 10M a month.

Food

Food is where Bali can be very cheap or as expensive as home. You choose.

A plate of nasi campur or nasi goreng in a warung costs Rp 25,000 to Rp 50,000, so $1.50 to $3. Eating that way three times a day comes to about Rp 3M a month.

A meal in a cafe in Canggu or Ubud costs Rp 80,000 to Rp 150,000 before the tax and service charge, which add 15 to 21 percent. A flat white is Rp 35,000 to Rp 45,000. A cocktail in a beach club is Rp 150,000 and up. Imported food in supermarkets, such as cheese, wine and breakfast cereal, costs more than in Europe or the US.

Most long stay foreigners mix both and land between Rp 6M and Rp 10M a month per person.

Transport

Almost everyone rides a scooter. Renting one by the month costs Rp 1M to Rp 1.5M for a Scoopy or a Vario, and Rp 2M to Rp 2.5M for an NMAX. Fuel adds Rp 150,000 to Rp 300,000 a month.

You need a motorcycle licence from home and an international driving permit to ride legally, and your travel insurance will ask for both after an accident.

If you do not ride, Gojek and Grab cover the south. A 20 minute bike taxi ride is Rp 20,000 to Rp 40,000 and a car about three times that. A car with a driver for the day is Rp 600,000 to Rp 900,000. Renting a car by the month starts around Rp 5M.

Electricity, water and internet

Ask what the rent includes before you compare two listings. Monthly rentals often include wifi, water and pool cleaning. Electricity is the usual exception.

Most villas have a prepaid meter. You buy credit, called a token, in a minimarket or in a banking app. With air conditioning running at night, a one bedroom villa uses Rp 1M to Rp 2M a month. A three bedroom villa with a pool pump can reach Rp 3M to Rp 4M.

Fibre internet costs Rp 350,000 to Rp 700,000 a month when it is not included. A SIM card with a large data plan is Rp 100,000 to Rp 150,000. Drinking water comes in 19 litre gallons at about Rp 25,000 each.

Health and insurance

A visit to a general practitioner in an international clinic costs roughly Rp 500,000 to Rp 1M. Local clinics and pharmacies cost much less and handle most everyday problems. Anything serious means a private hospital in Denpasar or Kuta, or a flight to Singapore.

That is why insurance matters more here than at home. Travel insurance for long stays starts around $50 to $80 a month for a young adult. International health insurance for expats is $100 to $300 a month, and more after 60.

Visa

The visa is a real line in the budget. A visa on arrival costs Rp 500,000 for 30 days and the same again for one extension. A 60 day visit visa that you extend twice, for 180 days in total, comes to about Rp 1.5M to Rp 2M a month once the agent is paid. A one year stay permit costs less per month but more up front. The guide to long stay visas compares them.

Every foreign visitor also pays the Bali tourist levy of Rp 150,000 on each arrival.

The cost of a year in Bali

Multiply the monthly budgets by twelve and you get roughly $11,500 for the frugal version, $27,000 for a single person in a villa, and $41,000 for a couple.

A year changes one thing, the rent. Owners want yearly rentals paid in advance, often in one payment, and give a much lower price in return. In our listings, a two bedroom place costs Rp 30M when rented by the month. On a yearly contract the median is Rp 225M, which works out to Rp 18.8M a month. Compare the two on long term rentals in Bali and monthly rentals in Bali.

Add the one-off costs of the first weeks: flights, a deposit, a few nights in a guesthouse while you visit places, and the things a furnished villa never has, like a decent desk chair.

Is Bali expensive?

Compared with the US, Australia or western Europe, no. Rent for a villa with a pool costs what a one bedroom apartment costs in a mid-size American city, and services such as cleaning, laundry and massage cost very little.

Compared with what people expect, sometimes yes. Bali is the most expensive place in Indonesia. Rents in Canggu have gone up year after year, and a western lifestyle with imported food, a gym, a coworking space and cocktails adds up to a western budget.

The $800 a month you read about on Reddit is possible. It means a room with a fan in Denpasar or a village around Ubud, warung food, and very few flat whites.

How to spend less

1. Live one area further out. Ubud, Tabanan and Kerobokan cost less than Canggu for the same home.
2. Rent a house or a room instead of a villa. See the houses for rent in Bali and the rooms.
3. Stay longer. Three months costs less per month than one, and a year much less.
4. Come in the low season, from January to March or in November, when owners negotiate.
5. Rent from the owner. Many posts in the groups are by owners, without an agent’s commission.

The guide on how to rent in Bali covers the visit, the deposit and the contract.